


Crimson Mountain

by Cubriffic



Series: Goretober 2019 [2]
Category: Super Smash Brothers
Genre: Angst, Beating, Blood and Violence, Gen, Goretober 2019, Hurt/Comfort, Major Character Injury, The icies are evil, This is an au fic btw, im bad at tags, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-11-26 14:40:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20931878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cubriffic/pseuds/Cubriffic
Summary: “You’ve caused enough fear and panic from your actions! We won’t let you step a foot outside these mountains!”Nana and Popo eyed each other. That was all they needed to communicate their answer.“Bring it on.”





	Crimson Mountain

**Author's Note:**

> Hell yea I'm on a ROLL with these fics
> 
> This is the Black Parka AU; essentially the icies are just evil shits. I've written this AU before (for my 30 day challenge) but I wanted to elaborate more on it since I REALLY enjoy it. Also turns out this AU is very good for writing angst and violence lmao  
This AU belongs to @/roxmiien on instagram! Please go and check her out after this!
> 
> TW for blood and violence, sorry 'bout that

The small sounds of wrapping up a night’s-worth of climbing were the only artificial noise that came from the mountains. The night had been quite eventful for the two climbers; despite not coming across any living person, they had run into a good number of topis and condors inhabiting the mountain. They had finally reached the bottom an hour or so before dawn, just outside the newest village that they had set their eyes on.

All Popo wanted to do was finally get a good rest. Nana had insisted that they climb all night with no breaks- a challenge enough on its own, not accounting for the vast amount of creatures they came across on the way. Popo could see a small cave opening out of the corner of his eye. His mouth twitched into a satisfied smile; a cave meant a satisfactory place to rest during the day without being caught.

“Found us a spot yet?” Nana’s voice came out as a harsh whisper, as she stuffed the remains of their equipment into her bag.

“Over there.” Popo pointed towards the cave.

“Good.”

Nana’s voice was as demanding as ever, even when saying just a simple statement. It had been that way since they were small. Popo could easily remember moments during their childhood, when Nana’s harsh words and dominating voice drove off any potential bullies from Popo. He had grown used to her way of speaking, and rarely paid it much attention anymore.

He was still careful around her though. Nana wasn’t all bark and no bite; Popo knew just how violent she could get if her demands were not met. She had never hurt him before, and he was confident that she never would, but he had seen others fall victim to her dangerous ways. He was always careful to remain submissive on her bad days, where she was more prone to lashing out at anything he said.

In Nana’s defense though, he could be much worse. At least when he wasn’t tired like this.

Nana picked up her bag. Her parka was sprinkled with fresh snow, standing out greatly against its dark colour.

“Let’s go then.”

The two were just about to set off towards the cave, when the sound of crunching snow alerted them. They turned around, armed with their large mallets, ready to face whoever had approached them.

They were met with two, sword-wielding boys. _Great_. Whilst some of the more wealthier villages had guards to protect the population, this village was supposedly one that shouldn’t have been able to afford such a luxury, let alone afford two of them. Popo guessed that word of their raids and kills had spread, and so they had hired these two as a precaution.

The two boys caught Popo’s attention. They were young, probably only a year or so older than him, which was rare amongst hired guards. One of them was a lanky, blue-haired & formal-looking thing, whilst the other had fiery red hair and appeared very wild. Both were dressed in luxurious outfits, with large coats and fluffy capes.

Just staring at their outfits was enough to make him sick.

“What do you want?” Nana hissed at them, clearly tired and very annoyed.

The blue-haired boy stepped forward, holding his sword out. “We’re here to stop you from entering Rade.”

The red-haired boy also stepped forward, his voice echoing loudly as he spoke. “You’ve caused enough fear and panic from your actions! We won’t let you step a foot outside these mountains!”

Nana and Popo eyed each other. That was all they needed to communicate their answer. Popo held out his mallet towards the blue-haired boy, his eyes shining with adrenaline.

“Bring it on.”

The two guards instantly attacked the pair, who defended themselves from the incoming swords. Popo took on the blue-haired one, whilst Nana drove away the redhead. Popo wasn’t a stranger to sword-wielders, but this one was more experienced than he expected; he left little open space for Popo to lunge and attack, and his attacks were close to hitting the climber.

He narrowly avoided a slice from the sword, which only allowed it to slice through a portion of his parka. Popo grimaced. This guard’s sword was of above-average quality; it would easily slice through Popo’s skin if he wasn’t careful enough. He retaliated with a hard swing of his mallet. It struck the guard, who yelped and jumped back in surprise. Taking it as an opportunity to strike again, Popo quickly approached him to swing again.

This boy, however, was experienced. He quickly assumed a fighting stance, dodging Popo’s attack and elbowing him in the ribs. Popo hissed at the pain. Being tired was not helping his case; he had to be more alert. He resumed his stance, looking out for the guard.

Popo missed another slice, hitting the boy with a mallet to the arm. As the boy winced in reaction, Popo caught sight of Nana, who was handling the situation better than he was. She was alert, hitting hard and easily beating out the boy she was fighting. She had always been a better fighter than Popo was.

However, he watched for a second too long, and was quickly met with a stab to the abdomen.

Despite his many battles and fights over the years, Popo had never actually been _stabbed_ by someone. The worst he ever got was a broken arm (which still struggled to bend in some ways to this day), or a deep sword slice, or a bad hack to the leg from an axe. He always thought his opponents wouldn’t actually be able to kill him like that. Except for, apparently, this guy.

It hurt. A lot. The pain was nothing like Popo had ever felt- somehow, it felt as if it was burning yet numb at the same time. He yelled out in pain & turned to look at his wound, dropping his mallet upon seeing it. It hadn’t penetrated through him entirely, but there was still a decently sized hole in his side. It was bleeding profusely too, soaking his parka with a dark stain.

With his distraction & lack of a weapon, the guard attacked Popo. Slices, punches and everything in between was laid upon him, only adding to the severity of his pain. It was difficult to avoid the onslaught of attacks, and he tried to retreat, backing up against the cold, smooth side of the mountain. The cold distracted him from his wounds for a moment, providing the climber with a sensation of relief.

Popo collapsed against the wall. His eye was beginning to swell, the result of a square punch to the face. His arms were covered in cuts of various depths & sizes and his nose felt very broken, not to mention the gaping hole in his side & dozens of bruises already forming on his body. His head pounded, and he was struggling to take in what was going on around him.

Through his blurred vision, he caught sight of red. His own blood was everywhere. His parka was soaked in it, he could feel it running down his arms & it was beginning to seep into the snow. The sight of it made him uncharacteristically sick. Had he not been bleeding out, he would have laughed at the irony- someone so bloodthirsty couldn’t stand the sight of his own blood.

Snow was crunching in front of him. The guard was approaching. Popo mustered up the strength to look up at him- his face was dark, and he appeared almost emotionless.

_“This ends here.”_

There was a scream, and the guard was suddenly taken down by a dark figure. Popo looked out to see Nana, slamming her mallet into something that produced the sound of crunching bones. He didn’t have to guess who or what she was attacking- the blue-haired guard’s sword, dropped next to her, was enough to say it all. Her swings were panicked and almost revenge-like; Popo found it strange, considering she was usually quite methodical and rarely actually did any killing. Even now, he could see that the other guard was only unconscious, tied up in the snow.

It was scary, seeing her act out so chaotically violent on another person.

Nana stopped her attack, and Popo could see her mallet stained with blood and other matter. She didn’t stop to take a breath however. Throwing it aside, she ran over to where Popo was, screaming out something that he couldn’t fully comprehend. He wasn’t focusing on whatever she was yelling though- he was more focused on how she looked.

He had never seen her more panicked and vulnerable than now. Nana rarely flipped out of her usual sassy & tyrannical behaviour, and even when she did, she still never acted this erratically. Then again, neither of them had ever gotten this hurt in a battle before. Still, it was jarring to see Nana acting so… humane.

It terrified Popo. He could hear her rambling and panicking about something, but he couldn’t fully make out what she was saying. Her voice was unstable; it sounded like she was going to start crying at any moment. As she reached to grab something from her bag, Popo noticed that her hands were violently shaking. Even in his defeated and weary state, Popo could tell just how worried sick she was.

Tiredness was beginning to settle in, but he forced himself to stay awake. Nana began to wrap Popo’s wounds in bandages, still rambling about something muffled to Popo’s ears. He attempted to keep on guard for her, watching out into the darkness for anyone approaching them. They were lucky to still be around the mountains, and not down the hill, where the village was waiting for them.

“For the love of God, Popo, just lay back!” Nana’s words finally came out clear to him, and he laid back against the cool mountain. She was shaking less now, and her voice was stabilising, but Popo could still see the fear and panic in her eyes.

Popo took the time to watch over her as she worked. She hadn’t gotten nearly as hurt as Popo had, but he could see dried blood against a wound on her arm. He could also see bruises forming against her cheekbone- they were already going an ugly green colour. Her parka was stained with blood, though Popo was quick to assume that it wasn’t her own.

Popo grimaced as Nana took one of his arms. The pain was immeasurable. “How bad…?”

“Very,” Nana’s voice had gone back to its usual tone, and she began to bandage Popo’s arm. “Cuts and slices all up your arms, broken nose, God knows how many bruises, and a very unsightly stab. You’re damn lucky I was finished with that guard.”

_Yikes_. Popo winced at that. “Is that all?”

“As far as I know.” Despite sounding calm again, Nana’s eyes gave away how she was really feeling. Popo had gotten good at reading how she felt; it was how he managed to avoid her whenever she was in a shitty mood.

Popo sighed shakily. He could see the sun was beginning to rear its ugly head on the horizon.

“We need to get going. The-”

“The sun, whatever, I know,” Nana scowled, taking Popo’s other arm. “That’s not important.”

The two stayed silent as Nana finished wrapping Popo’s arm. He was beginning to feel a bit better- his head didn’t throb quite as much, and he was at least not losing as much blood anymore. Nana pulled away as she finished, leaving Popo to look at his fresh bandages.

“You’re not going anywhere until that wound of yours is healed,” Popo almost smiled upon seeing Nana’s piercing glare- one that he had grown so used to over the past years. “We’ll need to retreat for some time.”

Popo nodded. “There’s a cave nearby we can go to.”

“I know. They’re bloody everywhere,” Nana shoved their makeshift first aid kit back into her bag. “We’ll stay in one of them until you can climb again, because I’m _not_ pulling you up the mountain myself.”

Popo snorted. “Whatever.” That had only happened once, back when he broke his arm; he could still hear Nana’s whining and complaining from having to pull him up the mountain.

Nana stood up, brushing off any loose bits of snow. She turned to him. “Can you stand up?”

“I’ll try.”

Popo pushed himself off from the ground, gripping onto Nana’s arm for support. Pain shot up his side, causing him to wince. He shifted his weight onto his other foot, and the pain slowly went away. He was going to struggle walking without any help. He didn’t have to tell Nana though, for she quickly slipped a hand under him for support. 

“God you’re useless.”

A faint smile fell on his lips. There was the Nana that he was used to.

“And yet you’re still out here helping me.”

She scoffed in response. Popo could see her expression go soft for a split moment.

“Be grateful that I am.”

**Author's Note:**

> The original ending was a lot darker & was supposed to end in them killing each other but I was like,,, yea no. Be glad you got this one.
> 
> Roy was also going to die instead of Marth in the first draft, but I changed it bc it was too similar to my other black parka fic.


End file.
